Delay on expat minimum wage risks driving unemployment among Maldivians, rights bodies warn

Amendment proposed to postpone the minimum wage for expatriates indefinitely will make it difficult for Maldivian workers to find jobs and further drive unemployment rate among Maldivians, Transparency Maldives and Maldives Trade Union Congress warned Sunday.

Since this year, Maldivian employees have been allocated a minimum wage. The government had decided to postpone the minimum wage for expatriates by two years.

However, the government has proposed amendments to the Employment Act to postpone the minimum wage for expatriates indefinitely. The first reading of the bill, sponsored by South Kulhudhuffushi MP Jamsheed Mohamed, was delivered at Wednesday's sitting.

In a joint statement, Transparency and Trade Union Congress said the proposed amendment is a step backward in the work to ensure equal rights for migrant workers.

It also goes against international commitments made by the Maldives, including International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Equal Renumeration Convention signed by Maldives on 4 January 2013, which states that equal remuneration must be given for work of equal value, the organisations said.

Transparency and Trade Union Congress called upon the government and parliament to rescind the proposed amendments to the Employment Act and ensure equal rights for migrant and local workers. 

"The amendment will further reduce the number of Maldivians employed and increase the unemployment rate of the country," the statement read. 

"We remind the government of their commitments and call on the state to abide by the laws, regulations and international instruments we are signatory to."

Economic minister Fayyaz Ismail told reporters late last year that if a minimum wage is set for expatriates, the economy will have a great negative impact, given the global economic recession. He believes that it is not possible to provide a minimum wage to expatriates under current circumstances. 

However, non-governmental organisations had issued a statement calling on the government to provide a minimum wage to expatriates as well.

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